Porsche 911 Turbo and Turbo S cabriolets revealed

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When we first drove the new Porsche Turbo S, it was literally too fast for our eyes. The way the four-wheel-drive, four-wheel-steer monster put down 553bhp and a ludicrous 553 torques and proceeded to shoot us towards the horizon made us momentarily blind. Well now, that slightly scary, yet addictive sensation can now be done without a roof over your head. Say hello to the new Porsche 911 Turbo and Turbo S.

The new models use the same 3.8-litre flat six, developing 514 bhp in the 911 Turbo cabriolet and 553bhp in the 911 Turbo S cabriolet. That’s 30bhp more than the previous generation of scalped Turbos and leads to a 0-62mph time 0.2 quicker than their predecessors - 3.5 seconds for the Turbo and 3.2 seconds for the Turbo S - too. They’re still a tenth slower than their hard top siblings, but those numbers suggest that they’re still blindingly quick. Especially considering both of them have a top speed of 197mph.

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Porsche has designed the fabric roof with a lightweight magnesium frame so it maintains the same curve to produce the same silhouette as the coupe. It’ll take around 13 seconds to close the lid and you can do it up to a speed of 31mph.

Elsewhere it’s pretty much the same as the hard top Turbo and Turbo S. The two cabs make use of the same active aerodynamics (that big rear wing and a rubber lip at the front that deploys above 75mph) and are built on a body that’s 28mm wider than the 911 Carrera 4. With these broader shoulders a PDK gearbox and the use of the same four-wheel-steer system that’s in the GT3, it could be one of the fastest point-to-point cabrios ever.

We’ll see the car in the flesh for the first time at the LA Auto Show in November and it’ll go on sale December with prices starting at £120,766 for the Turbo and £149,511 for the Turbo S. So, this or a 458 Spider?